2006 Lotus Elise Coupe 6 Speed Manual on 2040-cars

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Lotus Type 135 electric sports car mixes the Emira with some Esprit

Over the next four years, English sports car maker will make its oft-attempted transformations real by unveiling three "lifestyle vehicles" on its new Premium Architecture. The first is the Type 132 electric crossover, expected to debut in the next few months. After that will come the Type 133 four-door coupe, then the Type 134 crossover that's smaller than the Type 132. In that fourth year, we'll get the Type 135, an electric sports car that will recall the Lotus of old. This electric coupe, sitting on the firm's E-Sports architecture, is being called "a spiritual successor of the Elise," which would be a good thing. The teaser sketch Lotus released to hype up the car also makes us think Esprit, which, as far as we're concerned, is an even better thing. True, there's Elise and Exige and Emira in those exaggerated fenders, but the pointy ends are vintage early Esprit. But the looks aren't the point right now. The reason for the hubbub is Lotus signing a Memorandum of Understanding with British battery firm Britishvolt "to collaborate on research and development of advanced EV technology." The cooperation would put Lotus in charge of "electric propulsion technologies" like motors and control systems, while Britishvolt oversees a "new battery cell package." Goals for the pack are energy density, fast charging and weight reduction. Novel placement is on the menu, too, the E-Sports architecture laid out so that it can also accept batteries in the traditional style under the floor, or behind the cockpit a la a mid-engined sports car. The MOU could give the battery company two clients in one, as the Type 135 will be shared with Alpine across the Channel as well. By the time the Type 135 shows, Britishvolt's $5.1 billion battery factory in Northumberland should have been up and running for two years, ready to supply cells to the Type 135 that will be built at Lotus' historic Hethel, England headquarters (the other Types will be built in Wuhan, China at a manufacturing facility being developed by Lotus parent company Geely). The sports car will come in single- and dual-motor versions powering RWD and AWD trims, those motors expected produce anywhere between 469 and 872 horsepower providing a range of up to 450 miles on the WLTP cycle. The electronics will run on 800-volt architectures, the batteries ranging from 66.4-kWh to 99.6-kWh capacities.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

Lotus Evora GX to race in U.S. Grand-Am series

The Lotus Evora has taken many forms as a race car over the past few years, starting in 2009 with the Type 124 Endurance Racer built for the FIA GT. Since then, Lotus has developed a GT4 Cup version designed for a one-make series, the Evora GTE that currently competes in the GT class of the ALMS and the recently introduced Evora GTC.
Now, Lotus has released the Evora GX, a variation of the GTC tweaked to specifically meet the requirements of Grand-Am's new GX class that will launch at the start of the 2013 race season. While the two cars are very similar, using the same lightweight carbon fiber and plexiglass bodywork, the GX version gets a thicker U.S.-spec roll cage, a revised front splitter and bumper, a standard Grand-Am rear wing, yellow headlights and a new fuel filler system. ABS and traction control have also been removed per Grand-Am regulations.
Pricing for the Evora GX is listed at $335,000 with each one built to order, and one customer has already taken the plunge. McMahon Raceworks has placed an order and should have the car on the starting grid at the first race next year.

Renault formalizes return to F1 with Lotus acquisition

No longer satisfied with simply providing engines, Renault confirmed that it will return to running its own Formula One team next season. Though the terms of the deal are still being worked out, the French automaker will re-acquire the team currently known as Lotus. Renault previously owned and operated this same operation for nearly 10 years. Renault first entered the series in 1977. The company shut down the original Equipe Renault Elf in 1985, but continued powering Lotus, Ligier, and Tyrrell for another season. After a three-year break, it returned as an engine supplier with Williams in 1989, winning championship titles with the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Damon Hill behind the wheel. The 1995 season saw the start of the partnership with the team now in question when Benetton switched over from Ford power. After several years of success and more titles, Renault bought out the team and ran it as its own from 2002 through 2011 – winning two more titles with Fernando Alonso – before selling the operation to Genii Capital, which has run it since under the Lotus name. Even after Lotus switched to Mercedes power, Renault continued supplying other teams with engines, most notably winning back-to-back world titles with Red Bull before the new turbo hybrid engines arrived and Renault's performance dropped off. Now, in another case of history repeating, Renault is gearing up to bring the team based in Enstone back in-house. The move will likely see the Lotus name disappear again, after it was hotly contested with the Caterham team that ultimately disappeared as well. With it, Renault will return as a full-on works effort with its own engines, just like rivals Ferrari and Mercedes. Renault Announces Return to Formula 1 in 2016 - Carlos Ghosn announces his decision that Renault will return to Formula 1 with its own team for 2016 season. - Renault, 12-time Constructors' Champion with nearly 40 years in the sport, is an iconic brand in Formula 1 and intends to play an active role in the sport's development. - F1 is a technology showcase and accelerates development of Renault's innovation and range of sports cars. Following the September announcement of the signing of a Letter of Intent with Lotus F1 Team, teams at Renault continued to evaluate the possibility of a return to Formula 1. Particular attention was paid to competing successfully with its own team in a financially sound way starting in 2016.